Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys 10,277 Shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,718 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,277 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in VeriSign were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in VeriSign by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,038 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of VeriSign by 3.9% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,537 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign by 4.0% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 6.7% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC grew its stake in VeriSign by 5.6% during the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 92.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.43, for a total value of $402,563.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,033,391.51. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 1,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $233,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,593 shares in the company, valued at $6,382,670. The trade was a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,776 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,524. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

VeriSign Stock Up 4.9 %

VeriSign stock traded up $9.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $200.46. 848,912 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 663,569. VeriSign, Inc. has a 12-month low of $167.04 and a 12-month high of $220.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $185.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.49. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31 and a beta of 0.92.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The information services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. VeriSign had a net margin of 55.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.59%. The firm had revenue of $390.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of VeriSign from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.